Charlize Theron To Front Crime Thriller About Corrupt Vigilantes

There was a time when Charlize Theron was just another pretty face in Hollywood. Sure, she'd scored roles opposite hot leading men like Keanu Reeves in The Devil's Advocate, Johnny Depp in The Astronaut's Wife, and Ben Affleck in Reindeer Games, but none of these movies made audiences or critics take notice of Theron's skills as an actress. Then came 2003's Monster, a biopic about serial killer Aileen Wuornos in which Theron stripped away all the glamor and gorgeousness we associate with her, and in doing so redefined her career. She won the Oscar for the movie, and notably, it was one she formed off-camera as well as on, producing the pic under her Denver and Delilah banner.

Since then Denver and Delilah Productions has created a handful of films, including the wickedly funny R-rated comedy Young Adult, wherein Theron awed critics with her grown up mean girl role. Next up, Theron is throwing her dual-fisted power as a star/producer behind a mysterious new crime thriller set up over at Paramount. THR reveals Theron and producer Ian Bryce are developing the unnamed project, which is being penned by Dan Nowak, who has scripted several episodes of the crime-drama series The Killing.

Described as having a tone similar to The Departed and The End of Watch, the project will center on a "corrupt vigilante group." Corrupt in what way remains a mystery for now. But with Theron attached to produce and star, we're expecting great things out of this secretive thriller. She's got an impressive track record when she pulls double duty like this.

While this project develops, Theron will be working on a trio of other features. Just last week, she signed on to headline Fred Savage's comedy Ladies Night. She's also committed to Seth MacFarlane's Ted follow-up A Million Ways to Die in the West, and she's attached to produce and star in the much-anticipated adaptation of Gillian Flynn's twisting murder mystery Dark Places.